Monday, April 7, 2008

The defeat of congestion pricing: a harbinger of the fate of Mayoral control?

Whatever your views on congestion pricing, the refusal of the Assembly to hold a vote on it today -- the deadline for federal funding -- might be seen as a negative harbinger for next year’s decision on Mayoral control of our schools.

The NYC Partnership , representing the business community, and the Mayor’s office pushed very hard and despite the potential loss of $345 million, and the somewhat unexpected approval of the City Council, came up dry. The Partnership and the Mayor will likely be the two strongest proponents of Mayoral control next year as well.

I’m sure it didn’t help that Bloomberg is not well regarded up in Albany, particularly among the Democrats in the Assembly, for the arrogance with which he treats them, his unconscionable budget cuts to schools, and his huge contributions to the GOP to help them keep control of the NY State Senate.

No comments: